Clout Hiring Alive in Chicago

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson A clout hiring scandal in Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) has led to a five-day, unpaid suspension for an engineering technician and the resignation of a Deputy Commissioner. The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Jim Bolster was slapped with the five-day suspension “for assisting” his boss, former Deputy Commissioner Gilberto Quinones, in Quinones’ quest to...

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

A clout hiring scandal in Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) has led to a five-day, unpaid suspension for an engineering technician and the resignation of a Deputy Commissioner. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Jim Bolster was slapped with the five-day suspension “for assisting” his boss, former Deputy Commissioner Gilberto Quinones, in Quinones’ quest to “find employment for his son,” according to Transportation Department spokesman Brian Steele.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that Quinones resigned his $122,940-a-year job, effective July 26, after the inspector general’s report accused him of clouting his son into “three successive” full-time jobs with three different engineering firms holding CDOT contracts.

In two of the cases, Quinones was accused of going to the city managers with direct oversight over those contractors and directing them to, “Find a place for my kid.” He allegedly approached the president of the third company directly, according to sources familiar with the inspector general’s report.

“These are allegations we take very seriously. City ethics rules prevent anyone from hiring a family member or having a family member hired by a contractor doing business with the city. This appears to be a clear violation,” Steele said.

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